Grand Inaugural Event

On November 17-18, 2000, the Institute for Global Legal Studies officially opened its doors. The inaugural event was a colloquium entitled "The United Nations and the Protection of Human Rights." In the light of U.N. peace keeping operations, the international criminal court, the controversies over U.N. dues, and the continuing debates on international human rights, this subject is of obvious and immediate import.

Judge Patricia Wald, formerly Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and now a Judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, opened the event with the annual Tyrrell Williams lecture on Friday afternoon, November 17. The title of her address was "The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia Comes of Age: New Law and Old Rights."

The Saturday session featured a number of other luminaries:

Justice Richard Goldstone, now a member of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, was the first Chief Prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. He spoke on the challenges faced by the Tribunals and the prosecutor.

Dr. Francis Deng, formerly the Sudanese Ambassador to the U.S., is now the U.N. Secretary General's Special Representative for Internally Displaced Persons. He spoke on the work of the U.N. in addressing the needs of the internally displaced.

Ambassador Aida González Martínez of Mexico, who chairs the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, was called away at the last moment. Her speech was delivered by Prof. Karen Tokarz.

Mr. John Anderson, formerly a member of the U.S. Congress and in 1980 an independent candidate for President of the United States, is now the President and CEO of the World Federalist Association. He spoke on the subject of democratic global governance.

Mr. Richard C. Hottelet is a former CBS foreign correspondent, one of the original "Murrow Boys," and a long-time expert on the United Nations. Mr Hottelet suffered an injury that prevented his appearance. His speech was delivered by Professor Clark Cunningham, who provided historical vignettes on great moments in the life of the United Nations.

Ms. Erika Feller is the Director of the Department of International Protection of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, based in Geneva. She spoke on the work on the UNHCR.

Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni, of the DePaul University College of Law, was nominated last year for the Nobel Peace Prize. A distinguished diplomat, Professor Bassiouni is the father of the International Criminal Court, the former head of the UN fact finding mission in Sarajevo, and the Director of the International Human Rights Law Institute at DePaul. He spoke on the subject of UN factfinding missions.

Professor Thomas M. Franck is the Murry and Ida Becker Professor of Law, and the Director of the Center for International Studies, at the New York University School of Law. An eminent and prolific scholar, and the recently retired President of the American Society of International Law, Professor Franck spoke on "The United Nations and the Use of Force."

Professor Ruth Wedgwood is a Professor of Law at Yale Law School, a Senior Fellow for International Organizations and Law at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Director of Research for the American Society of International Law. A highly distinguished scholar who has also played key roles in numerous diplomatic negotiations, Professor Wedgwood spoke on United Nations peace keeping operations.

The inaugural program also included a reception and a ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate the Institute's new facilities. All the speeches will be reproduced in a book to be published this Spring by the School of Law's Journal of Law and Policy.

In keeping with the goals of the Institute, all of the inaugural events were open to the public. The inaugural colloquium was webcast as it occurred. Segments are now available for viewing via the RealPlayer software.

This event is made possible by a generous gift from Steven Cash Nickerson, Class of 1985, Chairman and CEO of Mucho.com, and Evelyn Thomas Nickerson.